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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26961274">The Catastrophe and the Beauty</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/agretisa/pseuds/agretisa'>agretisa</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hetalia: Axis Powers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Huldrafolk, Huldrekall, Human/Humanoid, Incomplete, M/M, Norse Mythology - Freeform, References to Norse Religion &amp; Lore, abandoned work, ambiguous time period, hulder</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:40:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>514</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26961274</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/agretisa/pseuds/agretisa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of vignettes of how Mathias, a lost traveler, fell in love with a huldrekall - a beautiful, seductive being in the forests of Norway.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Denmark/Norway (Hetalia)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Catastrophe and the Beauty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=nordictalia+discord+server">nordictalia discord server</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <b>1. Intro</b>
</p><p> </p><p>It is safe to say that beauty still exists. For it surpasses the limits of the verb “exist” farther than the eye can see. </p><p>What words does a person use to describe mythic fair folk? Who dares to humble the presence of the extraordinary into digestible little markings on paper? Mathias Kohler was no man of eloquent word, but even he knew it was better than to remain stricken silent. </p><p>How had he stumbled here, Mathias wondered? The adonis in front of him gave no clue as to why, but in the warmth of the cottage, the smell of smoke from a wood fire, and the protection of woolen blankets, the wounds on his body and fatigue in his heart seemed to erase away. As if magic existed. </p><p>The <em> huldrekall </em>took the Danish man’s stupor into context. He laughed a pure melody before sighing, closing his eyes, and easing himself onto the foot of the bed.</p><p>Oh, the wonder.</p><p>Mathias thought he could never speak again. </p>
<hr/><p>
  <b>2. Wanderer </b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The world was an expanse of white, blinding winds and snow with edges of ice. Winter seeped through your coats, your trousers, permeated your bones and never made you want to step outside again. Every step was a heartbeat, a desperate force to stay alive, but the rhythm of your own feet could only carry you so far through. Sound itself ran away, save for the whirling winds and the crunch of snow underneath your boots. </p><p>It was a terrible time to be lost. </p><p>An expedition to the wilds of Norway gone amok, Mathias had strayed from the trail in pursuit of his own discovery. What he searched for didn’t matter, in fact, all knowledge of their crew’s prior quest escaped his mind in the battle to survive. His face was blistering cold, with ruddy red cheeks and eyelashes weighed heavy by snowflakes. Tree after tree, sharp crag after fallen log, it seemed endless: Nature’s little labyrinth for those who misfortune chose. </p><p>Mathias burned for warmth. His back hit a sturdy pine trunk, and he sank down as the blizzard raged on. There was nothing left for him, the waterskin was long empty and eating frigid snow at a time meant this did far more harm than good. Every single letter in the winter wilds spelled out <em> death </em>for him, loud and clear, with no way out or no other choice. He closed his eyes, folded his tired mittens over his lap, and huddled against the tree for a saving heat that would never come. </p><p>Little did Mathias know he was only fifty feet off from the clearing, a frozen-over lake waiting for him, and with water came life. But it’s best to leave this knowledge to the inhabitants there. </p><p>The explorer lay there, quiet at the mercy of the forest. His angel would come soon enough.</p>
<hr/><p>A/N: Hi! Thanks for checking out this fic! This first chapter was a little short, but I'll be posting more and longer vignettes per chapter soon. Stay tuned, and if you liked it, leave a kudos :)</p>
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